Any day you win, rating six objectives, and beat Manchester United needs to be seen as a very good day trip for a Sunderland AFC group, and that is precisely what they did on at the present time in 1926.
Within the incredible guide The Absolute File written by Rob Mason, Mike Gibson, and Barry Jackson, the season was labelled as a ‘Purpose Feast’ as Sunderland crushed many sides by big margins throughout this season as they went on to complete third.
Regardless of the attacking exploits that Robert Kyle’s group displayed on this sport, newspaper articles weren’t blown away by his Sunderland facet. One report lamented that Sunderland ‘did nothing a lot of word’ throughout all the first half while additionally labelling the sport ‘vigorous with an excessive amount of drive used’ all through the sport.
As well as, one other journalist stated he was ‘not fooled’ by the Sunderland win in a sport the place they performed ‘little good soccer’ all through.
Kyle’s group appeared to play an industrious model of soccer which suited our centre-forward Dave Halliday greater than it could have suited our extra proficient footballers similar to Bob Kelly, who was stated to be ‘utterly unsuited to this sort of soccer’.
Industrious or not, the group introduced an enormous second-half efficiency the place the position of Billy Clunas was talked about as an unlimited turning level within the sport. Clunas’ forceful efforts put Sunderland on the entrance foot within the second half, and it wasn’t lengthy earlier than the Manchester United rearguard crumbled underneath the attacking Sunderland play.
The primary objective got here from the aforementioned Halliday who headed residence after a very good cross from Billy Ellis put it on a plate for the striker. Minutes later, Bobby Gurney scored after a goalmouth scramble while Clunas made it three objectives in ten minutes after a handball within the United field handed Sunderland a penalty.
From this level onwards, studies recommended ‘it was all Sunderland penetrations’, and United appeared to fold quickly; in a sport which was deemed as one with ‘an excessive amount of drive’, it appeared United’s accidents caught up with them as the sport progressed.
Late on, Halliday added three extra that gave him 4 objectives for the afternoon and an enormous win for his Sunderland group in entrance of a crowd of 15,385 at Roker Park.